Taxes

A few weeks ago, Hawaii homeowners received their 2017 property tax assessments. It was not a pleasant way to end the holidays or start the new year....

...our state government paid half a million dollars in pension payments to people who were already dead. Well, then, what do you think of budgeting many times that amount for people who don’t even exist?....

"We’ve got to wake up and sell development rights along the rail, like they do in Japan and Hong Kong."

...Total Cost Per Smoker: $2,048,587....

On December 13, 2016, Governor Ige signed off on, and thereby finalized, significant increases in fees charged by the Department of Transportation Harbors Division....

... legislators are considering a special, higher GET rate for marijuana, but haven’t decided upon that rate yet ....

...the Ige Administration has been meeting with the unions....

Stop the unconstitutional use of public funds to turn native Hawaiians into a race-based tribe. Instead, focus on what would really help them -- like better schools, more housing, and economic development....

This digest summarizes the Hawaii tax laws enacted during the 2016 Regular Session and the federal tax laws enacted during calendar year 2015....

People get viscerally upset when you tell them they need to follow a rule they didn't know and couldn't have known....

Tomorrow, the city will send approximately 300,000 notices....

...The State is the senior partner in the tobacco industry....

OHA may be able to pick boaters’ pockets, but it turns out shore-bound fishermen are protected....

If Dot Foods loses, none of us is safe....

...due to a change in requirements, those residents who have qualified for exemptions in the past must now file a state resident income tax form or risk being disqualified....

...OHA milked $12,684,000 from Harbors Division in 2015....

...the cumulative effect is a 54.8% increase in Wharfage rates....

The result of the general election earlier this month raises the possibility of a high magnitude shake-up in our federal tax system....

...asking Harbors to release the financial information that would justify the need for a wharfage rate increase....

...the classification ran afoul of three protections that the U.S. Constitution, and, to some extent, the Hawaii Constitution, provide under the Commerce Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Privileges and Immunities Clause....

... Gov Ige's Newsletter shares HIDOT's latest tax hike sales pitch ....

For a very long time, states have been wrestling with the problem of how much to tax entities operating in more than one state....

HART has now received a total of $1.8 billion in surcharge revenue for the rail project ... roughly $48.4 million less than projected....

...The first public hearing on the proposal will be Nov. 7 at noon at the Pier 11 terminal at Honolulu Harbor....

The Grassroot Institute argues that this is not about the right to collect taxes, but rather a matter of mis-allocation of the funds....

...Public Hearings November 2 and 3, 2016....

...Residential A Property Tax Classification Ruled Unconstitutional....

42 REITs were identified operating in Hawaii....

In March, the Honolulu Zoo was denied re-accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for the first time in its 100-year history....

...the habit the state Department of Taxation has of keeping the money that is left over after they process the rail surcharge....

As of the end of Fiscal Year 2016 Hawaii’s Pipeline balance is $548 million....

In total, Governor Ige increased spending by $1.8 billion since he took office....

Excessive taxes and fees, especially regressive per-line taxes, impose a disproportionate burden on low-income consumers....

An average family of five would have to pay more than $1,000 per year just to complete rail....

"...Our numbers come from the DOT submittals to the federal government for the HI state-owned road system, so if they are ‘wrong’ then the DOT needs to say why they submitted them ‘wrong’...."

...a $4 million federal grant to come up with a “reimagining” of the taxes we currently pay....

Despite that heavy spending, Hawaii’s roads are the worst in the U.S. for urban pavement conditions ....

I have good news. Hawaii improved its position in the Index, moving up from 30th to 26th overall....

The expiration of temporary tax increases in Hawaii resulted in the elimination of the top three individual income tax brackets and the lowering of the top marginal rate from 11 to 8.25 percent....

...Apple owed Ireland 13 billion euros....

On September 21, the U.S. House passed H.R. 2315 by voice vote. It now goes to the Senate....

Recently, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) revealed that it is considering a mileage-based user fee....

In Hawaii, we have a beast called a Taxation Board of Review that is quickly following the dodo bird down the path to extinction....

...highest ever bond ratings and the strongest credit position the state has ever achieved in its history....

...In 2015, use of e-cigarettes may have resulted in an additional 18,000 long-term ex-smokers in England....

It seems that 15%-20% of our surcharge is being paid by “tourists” in the strict sense, but when you include military families and the federal government you do come up with a percentage closer to a third....

...retailers could gain an estimated $442 million in annual revenue from the sale of paper bags and reusable bags....

Divide $200 million by 1 million people, and you get $200 a year per person....

..."the cumulative effect for the economy from having our regulatory leviathan" is $1.8 trillion per year....

...Liu submitted false invoices to be paid from the state after being awarded a state contract to start a certified redemption center....